Shamrock Capital Acquires Rights to Taylor Swifts Early Albums

Shamrock Capital acquired the rights to Taylor Swift’s first six albums for $300 million from a group including Ithaca Holdings and a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group.

Ithaca originally paid a reported $300 million for Big Machine Label group in June of 2019. Swift originally recorded her first six albums with Big Machine Label Group, but reacted poorly to the transaction.

Swift was angry with Ithaca Holdings founder and famed music manager Scooter Braun. In November of 2019 she claimed that Braun was trying to prevent her from performing her old music. The transaction with Shamrock took place without her knowledge, and Shamrock only contacted Swift after the deal was signed.

In this process, Swift learned that Braun would continue to benefit financially from the transaction, which further angered her: “I was hopeful and open to the possibility of a partnership with Shamrock,” she wrote. “But Scooter’s participation is a non-starter for me.”

earnout private equity
Source: Adam Lewis | "Shamrock scoops up part of Taylor Swift's catalog in $300M deal " | PitchBook | 11/17/2020 | Visit